Wondering what to do if you are poor at the moment and need a loan? We’ve all been there. Ever heard of a flex loan? We have. So, what are flex loans? In a nutshell, flex loans can get you the cash you need and the flexibility to pay it back as quickly or as slowly as you can. Do not mistake flex loans with payday loans, they are quite different. Read on to find out more about flex loans and how to secure one.

How Much Can I Get?

Flex loan amounts vary among lenders, but typically you can expect to borrow anywhere from as low as $25 all the way up to several thousand. For more information, visitAF247.

How Does It Work?

Think of a flex loan as more of a credit line and you’ll be on the right track. Once you establish with a flex loan lender how much you qualify for, you can withdraw the cash anytime you want. The bonus is you have several options to pay it back. All you need to secure a flex loan is a government-issued, photo ID; a vehicle title that is free and clear if you want to use that as collateral; proof of income; and a bank account.

Payback

If you take out a flex loan, you will be given a scheduled payment plan. What do you do if you feel too poor to pay the whole amount? You simply pay the minimum amount due, which is the interest rate and fees. If you’re feeling a bit more flush, you can pay an additional amount and reduce the balance of the loan faster. If you pay off the loan in one lump sum you can save all the interest payments and satisfy the loan penalty free! The true beauty of a flex loan is that it garners no late fees. You pay your balance down and you can take out more cash from your credit limit—it’s a pretty easy process. In addition, should you want to take out more money when you’ve paid off the loan, most lenders will keep your credit line open. Interest rates vary according to the amount of the loan, and different states offer different terms. If you’re interested in a flex loan, make sure you find out exactly what your interest rate will be so you don’t have any surprises!

Pros

A flex loan could be your answer if you need money fast and you want options when you pay it back. Once your loan is approved, you can usually get funding the next business day, which can really help if you’re poor and find yourself in a financial crisis. You won’t need perfect credit to secure a flex loan, and many companies offer online applications, making it even easier to get one. Now that you know what flex loans are, explore the different companies from which you can get one; here’s a good place to start: Flexible Credit.

There have been several recent incidences of tourists damaging or disrespecting museum property in odd ways in an attempt to offer donations or to make wishes.

At the Wushan Museum in Chongqing, an ancient burial coffin was being used to collect donations from museum visitors. It’s unclear whether or not the museum staff was encouraging this practice, but the coffin has been filled with cash and coins over the time it was being used by museum-goers to collect donations for the museum.

The coffin had been discovered in the mid reaches of the Yangtze River. It had once belonged to the Ba people, who were part of a Chinese civilization that dates back to about 2,000 years ago.

Local reports haven’t confirmed whether or not the practice of leaving monetary gifts in the ancient coffin will stop after it gained international attention. Many were outraged at the implication of a slight towards the dead, the coffin’s original owners, and the ancient people the artifact was associated with.

In a practice similar to the use of the coffin as a donations collection box, the Beijing Museum of Natural History has been using the display case of a dinosaur’s remains to collect donations from museum visitors. According to the museum’s staff members, visitors have been pushing money through the edges of the display case for fun or to make a wish.

The Beijing News reported that most of the cash notes left in the display case range up to as much as 10 yuan (HK$12.50) apiece, and hundreds of yuan notes have been left by the visiting public. While the practice has earned plenty of money for the Museum of Natural History, there are concerns that the donations could damage the specimen of the dinosaur’s remains.

The Beijing Art Museum reported that visitors have been tossing coins at an ancient stone tablet dating back to the Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1911. The thrown coins have been damaging the tablet, leaving the engraved surface pitted and scarred.

A volunteer at the museum said, “We have security guards here, but we cannot make sure every piece is under watch all the time.”

Chinese Officials Confirm the Need for Increased Security for the Nation’s Museums and Historical Institutions

The Chinese state media say that these incidents reflect a greater need for increased security in and around the nation’s museums. As of last March, there have been new regulations set forth to tighten the operations and control of museums, including the safety of displayed artifacts.

The Chinese media often reports on the “uncivilized” actions of tourists visiting these museums, and that their behavior has been damaging priceless pieces of art, history, and culture. They ask for visitors to show more courtesy in their visits, and to think before engaging in seemingly-harmless acts made in fun or for good luck.

In Australia, on a small island, several foxes found some penguins and decided to wipe out the entire colony of foxes. However, one farmer got a unique idea to rescue the penguins and protect them. Since then, this story has received much media coverage, so that, it was turned into a popular film. Have you watched it? Listen to this oddball story and it may jog your memory.

The Little Ones

In the beautiful and rugged region of Middle Island, Australia, off the Southern coast of Victoria, a colony of penguins existed. They were the smallest sized penguins that the world had ever seen. They were originally recognized and identified as the fairy penguins until specific individuals from the political arena had their say and saw this as being politically incorrect. So they were then called little penguins. What a boring title for these unique birds, right? These penguins are about forty centimeters tall when standing and that is indeed small, but ‘fairy penguins,’ would have been a more appropriate name. Before those foxes came into play, hundreds of ‘little penguins’ would congregate on Middle Island.

In the Past

In the past, there were about eight hundred penguins on the island and according to some residents; you could barely find even four. More than three hundred and sixty of these little penguins were found dead within two nights. Foxes had killed them for food. The oddball incident that took place in 2005 showed that years before, the problem that had existed with those ravenous foxes. It was a build up to the inevitable – either someone had to make an effort to rescue those penguins or have the foxes eat them all.

The Target

Middle Island had no humans living in that area. In fact, the island was always separate from the mainland by a body of water. When there is a buildup of sand during the low tide in the constricted channel, the foxes had no choice but to cross over to the mainland to hunt for food. The penguins were their perfect target. As the fox population increased, it was clear to everyone that the ease of finding food was the source of the increase.

The Chicken Farmer

A chicken farmer constructed a plan to help the little penguins. He used one of his dogs as protector to the birds. In Australia, the Maremma dogs are usually used to protect sheep and goats, so why not the penguins, the farmer thought? The dog was known as “Oddball,’ and did he make an impact! He sure did. Instantly, there was a pattern change in how the foxes were bothering the penguins. Before the dog was placed on the island, there were noticeable footprints on the beach where the penguins hung out.

After the Dog’s Appearance

After the dog came, the footprint of the foxes was greatly diminished. The barking of the dog also scared the foxes and the dogs were able to smell the foxes from afar off. Since the introduction of “Oddball,’ the dog, there was not a single incident between the penguins and the foxes. Soon, they all disappeared.

Want to know the top oddball news of 2015? You will find some of them funny and hilarious while others will be so absurd, almost beyond belief. Do you have any oddball news that you would like to share? We would love to hear them. However, here are the ones we were able to find.

Hanging Precariously

In England, two students who attended Nottingham Trent University as freshmen saw an unusual sight while walking through their University campus on an early morning. They saw a man trying to enter one of the buildings via one of the windows. His legs, though, were caught in the window and he was left hanging in a precarious position – upside down. His rear end was exposed to the outside. The two students spoke to the man, but while photographing and making a video of him. Afterwards, the students called for emergency service. Firefighters and policemen came on the scene once the call was received. However, they, too, took pictures of the man before they rescued him. Once rescued, the man told the responders that he hung in the same position for about five hours – prior to being found by the students.

Repossessed Getaway Vehicle

At Walmart, a 25 year old Illinois man was seen putting some electronic goods into his shopping cart. He left the store without making a payment for the items. When he was stopped by employees in the store, he ran away, leaving the merchandise behind. He was arrested later by the police while walking down the street nearby. When the cops asked why he was walking and not driving, he told them that his car was repossessed while he was shopping at Walmart. Apparently, when he tried to run away, after being confronted by employees for taking the merchandise, he could not find his car. There was a repossession company that had tracked him down and followed him to Walmart. He did not know that the company had towed his car when he went into the store. He had no option, but to walk on foot, even after he fled the scene. For that reason, it was easy for the police to find him walking.

The Horse and the Bathtub

It is not a strange occurrence for livestock owners to use an old bathtub as an animal feeding trough. In California, a livestock owner of a 30 year old horse used an old bathtub for a feeding trough. The horse, however, fell and got stuck in the bathtub for more than twenty minutes with feet up in the air. At first, the dispatcher thought that it was a human stuck in the bathtub when 911 was called. Firefighters came to the rescue.

Cat Gave Birth in Tree

In Ireland, a cat gave birth to its litter in a bird nest, which was approximately eight feet from the ground. The stray cat got up in the tree, which was not uncommon. The cat, however, went into the bird nest for comfort. She gave birth to four kittens. A concerned resident rescued the kittens and brought them safely down.

There are many odd news stories every day that appear to be fascinating for readers. However, many of them seem to be unbelievable, too good to be true. It is hard to understand how so many individuals get into certain of these situations that are bizarre and almost unreal. However, for many others, these news stories are very entertaining and it probably makes the reader feel superior to the person in the news stories. Below are several of these odd news stories that are just too good to be true, but they are indeed so.

Vehicle Landing on Roof

In California, for example, someone stole a vehicle and drove it to a local community where the vehicle landed on one of the neighbor’s roof. Apparently, the vehicle was driving too fast to control and made contact with a tree stump, resulting in the vehicle being launched into the air and landing on the roof of the house. The residents were in the house during the incident, but it was reported that no one received any serious injuries as a result of the accident. A towing company subsequently removed the vehicle with a crane. It is said that the driver of the stolen vehicle fled the accident scene, but was later arrested that same night while at his girlfriend’s home.

Fork in the Road

In the same state of California, it was reported that some motorists came upon a fork in the road while driving. How did the fork get in the road? It is said that a sixty two year old retired teacher constructed a six foot high fork in the intersection of two roads. The teacher was inspired by the most current Muppet movie. In the movie, the Muppets discovered a huge silverware fork as they were searching for a fork in the road. The city crew did remove the artifact the next day. Residents, in opposition to the moving of the fork, began to tape up forks all over city signs, but a city spokesperson clarified that this was a code violation.

The Woman and the Fake Tortoise

An English woman discovered a tortoise in her garden. The tortoise was five inches long. She found the tortoise to be cute so you know what she did? She tried to feed the tortoise inside of her house. It is reported that the tortoise would not bite the lettuce she fed it, so she called the wildlife rescue organization for assistance. When the rescue professional arrived at the woman’s home and took up the turtle, it is said that he found “made in China” painted on the animal. Moss covered the tortoise, indicating that it was a fake tortoise that had been in the woman’s garden for a long period of time.

Collecting Unearned Money

At 65 years old, a civil servant of German descent had his job eliminated. After that, he sent an email to one of his colleagues, boasting that within 14 years of working, he hadn’t actually done any work for the city. Instead, another colleague that the city had hired had done his job and in the process, the city had forgotten to stop sending him paychecks. So for 14 years, the man collected a total of US$980,000.

Remember the sci-fi movies Inception or The Matrix, where the lead roles enter the virtual world to fight against the evil. Now imagine, if you get a chance to enter the virtual world with all your senses intact, meaning you can hear, see, touch, smell, and even feel the things around you, how will you react?

Until now, the simulated reality had just been a fiction and only confined to the world of novels or movies, but with the infamous game Desert Bus, which was released in 1995 by the famous American entertainer and illusionistsPenn Jillette and Teller, the fiction is very soon going to convert into the reality for the mass.

If you are a game freak and never lose any opportunity to show your expertise in drive game, Desert Bus must have been within your figures many times. Of course, it is boring, but those who have played it know how addictive it is?

It is a driving game where you have to cover the distance of Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in approximately 8 hours. The worst part is the maximum speed, which cannot exceed more than 45 miles/hour, while the major catch is that you have to complete the whole journey within real time, where you have to exhaust all your stamina, concentration to finish the single leap, otherwise your bus engine may stall or slip, and you have to start afresh to cover the distance as your bus will be towed back to the start point.

The Bus tends to incline toward right every time so if within 8 hours you lose the control of steering even for a second, your whole effort will go in vain. The problem is, you are alone in the journey, which means there are no virtual passengers with whom you can chat or no traffic light to give you a halt for some second. You have to drive continuously until you reach Las Vegas. The terrific part is, the game has no pause button, so forget about taking a gap and doing other work. If you want to win the game, you have to be in the game to its end. The game is a real villain because there is no change of sight scene.

For the whole journey, the only scenery you will face is the old sand-pocked road or road sign here and there. The costly part is, for every completion of the game, you earn a single point, so if you want to score high, you have to play the game again and again.

Interesting facts about the game

Did you know the game was released first as a satire against the media’s anti-video-game lobby? The game was designed, developed and released to educate students on how to concentrate? The the road in the game is quite long and boring and there is no option to pause. The only mantra to win the game is to concentrate and be conscious.

Penn Jillette has announced in the recent Penn Sunday Podcast that this team is working on a couple of other games as a bundle to launch on the VR platform. The talk is going on and probably the launch will be on theOculus Rift and Playstation in the VR format. The wait is going to be crazy for the hard-core fans of Dessert Bus, but definitely will be worthwhile en-route.